In their book The Lessons of History, historians Will and Ariel Durant
caution that, "No man, however brilliant or well-informed, can come in
one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and
dismiss the customs or institutions of his society, for these are the
wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory
of history. A youth boiling with hormones will wonder why he should
not give full freedom to his sexual desires; and if he is unchecked by
custom, morals or laws, he may ruin his life before he matures
sufficiently to understand that sex is a river of fire that must be
banked and cooled by a hundred restraints if it is not to consume in
chaos both the individual and the group." (Durant 43) The rebellion and
sexual revolution against the alleged "archaic" and "outdated"
traditions and customs of the ancients plays a significant role in the
modern acceptance of licentious behavior between men and women, and
most especially in upholding homosexuality as well. To lightly dismiss
such lessons from history in favor of this "enlightened" worldview is
short-sighted, foolish and self-defeating. Homosexuality is a mental
and cultural aberration that must be seen as the disease it is instead
of being condoned, if not praised.
Literary critic, novelist, Christian apologist and philosopher C. S.
Lewis, on the subject of adherence to tradition, writes in The
Abolition of Man that, "In the older systems both the kind of man the
teachers wished to produce and their motives for producing him were
prescribed by the Tao - a norm to which the teachers themselves were
subject and from which they had claimed no liberty to depart. They did
not cut men to some pattern they had chosen. They handed down what
they had received: they initiated the young neophyte into the mystery
of humanity which over-arched him and them alike. It was but old birds
teaching young birds to fly." (Lewis 451) The ancient world, with few
exceptions, universally condemned homosexual practices. Although it
was most severely censured with the advent of Christianity, it was
thoroughly denounced by the ancient Hebrews (i.e. Genesis 19:1-12;
Leviticus 18:22, 20:13) as well as in the long-lived pagan societies
such as the ancient Greeks and amongst Roman, Frankish and Teutonic
tribal cultures (Flaceliére 62-4). Christianity by no means instigated
In the controversial court case, McCulloch v. Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall’s verdict gave Congress the implied powers to carry out any laws they deemed to be “necessary and proper” to the state of the Union. In this 1819 court case, the state of Maryland tried to sue James McCulloch, a cashier at the Second Bank of the United States, for opening a branch in Baltimore. McCulloch refused to pay the tax and therefore the issue was brought before the courts; the decision would therefore change the way Americans viewed the Constitution to this day.
In response to intervention, thousands of groups of people became defiant. Laborers living off the bare minimum often assembled into organized groups to enforce their demands upon the government, making a notable push for reform (D) while educated men such as Henry Demarest Lloyd promoted virtue, not land, as the ideal focus of government (B). Dissatisfaction continued within the middle class. As new industrial machines emerged, designed for mass product...
Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan which made her an Indian Princess. When she was 12 years old, she saved a colonist named John Smith from being clubbed to death. After this, the relationship between the colonist and the Indians were at peace. Captain Smith sent many presents to Powhatan and the Indian woman gave food to the colonist. When John Smith left Jamestown because of a gunpowder accident, the peace between the Indians and the colonist weaken. In 1612, Governor Thomas Dale ordered for Pocahontas to be kidnapped, held for ransom that would be paid in corn by Chief Powhatan. While she was held captive, Pocahontas was baptized Christian and given the name Rebecca. Also while she was imprisoned, Pocahontas fell in love with John Rolfe, who then asked for her hand in marriage. Sir Thomas Dale and Chief Powhatan gave their consent and they got married in Jamestown on April, 1613. This marriage brought peace between the English and the Indians for many years. On 1615, John and Pocahontas had a child named Thomas. Pocahontas became the center of English society’s attention. She had then become Lady Rebecca Rolfe. Before going back to Virginia, Pocahontas became sick. She died on March, 1617, at the age of 21 in England. She was buried in the chapel of the parish church in Gravesend. Rolfe returned to Virginia, where he manufactured tobacco. I liked Pocahontas because she was the kind of person who was willing to do new things and she did the right thing even if no one would agree with her. She is famous for her actions (even if Disney exaggerated them) and I admire her strength and courage to stand up for what she believed in.
Planned Parenthood of PA v. Casey was argued on April 22, 1992 and the official decision was reached on June 29, 1992. The case dealt with a couple of “hot topics” including privacy and abortion. At the time, Pennsylvania had made a new abortion control law in 1988 and it was finalized in 1989. This law required all women to get informed consent and wait twenty-four hours before they were allowed to get an abortion. As for minors, they had to also get the consent of one parent/legal guardian and married women had to indicate that her spouse knew about her decision. However, after the provision was made, many physicians as well as abortion clinics challenged it, they did not feel that it was right for the state to have so much power over a woman’s body, when Roe v. Wade, gave a woman a right to an abortion. Soon after all the commotion of the case, a federal appeals court decided to uphold all requirements except they decided to get rid...
These early Supreme Court decisions have made a lasting impression on the United States. Marbury v. Madison established the concept of judicial review that strengthened the ability of the judcicary to act as a check against the legislative and executive branches by providing for the review of Congressional acts by the judiciary to determine the constitutionality of such acts. McCulloch v. Maryland allowed for the expansion of Congress’ implied powers needed to execute its delegated powers as well as defined the supremacy of constitutionally enacted federal entities over state statutes.
Throughout the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the main character, Huck goes through major changes. The story is set before the Civil War in the South. Huck is a child with an abusive father who kidnaps him from, Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, the people he was living with. He eventually escapes from his father and finds Jim, Miss Watson’s runaway slave. As Huck travels with Jim, Huck begins to realize that Jim is more than a piece of property. During the travel down the river, Huck makes many decisions that reflect his belief that Jim deserves the same rights he has. Because of these realizations, Huck chooses to do the right thing in many instances. Some of these instances where Huck does the right thing instead of society’s version of the right thing include, Huck apologizing to Jim, not turning Jim in, and tearing up the letter he was going to send to Miss Watson.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is about a young boy who helps a slave escape from his master by floating down the Mississippi River on a raft. The story starts with Huck's abusive, alcoholic father, "Pap," kidnapping him from the nice widow, Mr. Watson, whom Huck was living with. Huck manages to escape and meets up with Jim, a slave of Mrs. Watson's, who ran away. As Huck and Jim float to freedom from slavery and other evils of society, they meet a variety of characters from different sides of humanity, including conmen and two families in a deadly feud. On their journey, Jim and Huck grow emotionally closer and Jim becomes somewhat of a father figure to Huck. This is beneficial to Huck because his real father is hardly
The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity ever committed. Millions upon millions of people were ruthlessly tortured and executed during the infamous reign of the Third Reich. The events and conditions surrounding Adolf Hitler’s rise to power have been extensively studied by historians, sociologists, political scientists, and psychologists in the hopes of preventing this state of merciless dictatorship from ever recurring. Due to the immensity of the Nazi campaign against those of the Jewish faith, that ethnic group is most often mentioned in association with the concentration camps and exterminations of the Third Reich. However, there were many other groups who were persecuted alongside the Jews. These groups include political dissidents, criminals, gypsies, the handicapped, Jehovah’s Witnesses, emigrants, and homosexuals (Heger 32). The plight of homosexuals is, perhaps, the most overlooked aspect of the Holocaust. Of all the concentration camps, Sachsenhaussen, just north of Berlin, was the most important in the imprisonment and execution of homosexuals. The conditions under which all prisoners here were forced to live were absolutely inhuman, but for homosexuals it was far worse. As the one group that was despised by both the Nazis and those who were imprisoned within concentration camps, gays were persecuted with the greatest enthusiasm, and because of the taboos surrounding their lifestyle, their tragedy was left unnoticed for nearly three decades.
Her real name was Matoaka, a name used only within the tribe (Sahlman). Her tribe, the Powhatans, believed that harm would come to them if outsiders learned of their tribal name (Jamestown). Therefore, she went by Pocahontas, a nickname given to her meaning “little wanton” for she was a playful, frolicsome little girl (Sahlman).
Fag. Poof. Fairy. Homo. Dyke. Those are all words that are used on a daily basis to put down those who do not fit into the Bible’s supposed cookie-cutter, straight sexual orientation label. Homophobia has been around since the eleven hundreds, but before then homosexuality was viewed as healthy, normal, and at times it was even worshipped. However, society’s view of homosexuality has somehow been warped into a violently negative opinion. How did this happen? The main perpetrators of homophobia are the Bible and those who preach its word, or at least their version of its word. Which brings up the translation issues scattered throughout the Bible. The New Testament was written in Greek and there are not always direct translations of each word in English. The messages in the Bible that are said to condemn homosexuality can be interpreted in a more accepting way than they are usually preached.
Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.
Commonly referred to as the Gilded Age, the end of the nineteenth century was a period of social issues and political unrest. Following a period of Reconstruction after the Civil War, the Gilded Age was ridden with problems surrounding the countries recovery. Presidents such as Ulysses Grant and Rutherford Hayes were viewed fraudulent and incompetent leaders for the nation. Meanwhile, Congress was mostly ruled by large enterprises, allowing for little political representation of the masses. Additionally, the nation was plagued by an overwhelming amount of social issues including child labor, immigration, women and minorities, and rapid urbanization. Overpopulation was particularly troublesome for the state of democracy as most voters were
The closest ideological position to me is accept the person, reject the behavior. It does not matter to me if someone homosexual or not. If that what he or she wants to do that is them. I feel like that is their business just like being heterosexual is my business. Being heterosexual or homosexual does not make you better than other. It is their life and they can do whatever they want. I do reject their behavior, because it is against my religion. I was taught being homosexual is wrong. I will treat them just like I treat everyone else. The reason why I do not care if someone is gay or not, because it does not concern me. My religion is a sin and no sin is greater than the other one. Plus, it is not me that is your life, as long as that person
... decades ago. This book is one that will allow the reader to view many aspects of sexuality from a social standpoint, and apply it to certain social attitudes in our society today, these attitudes can range from the acceptance of lesbian and gays, and the common sight of sex before marriage and women equality. The new era of sexuality has taken a definite "transformation" as Giddens puts it, and as a society we are living in the world of change in which we must adapt, by accepting our society as a changing society, and not be naive and think all the rules of sexuality from our parents time our still in existence now.
“All men are created equal, No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words,” Harvey Milk. A homosexual, as defined by the dictionary, is someone of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex. Homosexuality is ethical, and I will provide rational arguments for, and irrational arguments against the topic. A few objections are as follows: It is forbidden in the Bible and frowned upon by God; It is unnatural; Men and women are needed to reproduce; There are no known examples in nature; and the most common argument that concerns homosexuality is whether it is a choice or human biology.